Loop 303 closure scheduled this weekend as project reaches a major milestone

Those of you who drive Loop 303 in the Surprise area are in for a big switch…

Starting next week you’ll be traveling on the newly-constructed northbound side of the freeway between Peoria Avenue and Mountain View Boulevard. The traffic switch is necessary so crews can start building the future southbound lanes as part of the ongoing project that’s transforming Loop 303 from a two-lane roadway into a modern urban freeway. This is a big milestone for the project and marks the completion of Phase I and a move into Phase II.

In order to switch traffic from one side of the freeway over to the newly-completed portion, ADOT is scheduled to close Loop 303 between Grand and Glendale avenues from 10 p.m. tonight (Oct. 26) to 6 p.m. Sunday (Oct. 28). Traffic will be detoured along Reems Road while Loop 303 is closed. Most east-west streets in the area will remain open.

The closure will give crews time to finalize paving and striping as well as set up barriers, signals and signage – all necessary for the new traffic configuration.

After the weekend closure…
When the switch is complete, Loop 303 traffic will use one lane in each direction on the new northbound pavement that starts just north of Peoria Avenue and the off- and on-ramps at the interchanges at Cactus, Waddell, Greenway and Bell roads. Temporary traffic signals will allow the two-way traffic to move through those intersections.

The $128.7 million project to upgrade Loop 303 between Peoria Avenue and Mountain View Boulevard, south of Grand Avenue, is scheduled for completion in fall 2013. Check out yesterday’s blog post for a look at the progress so far …

This isn’t the only project under way on the Loop 303. The entire freeway (which stretches from I-10 in Goodyear to I-17 in Phoenix) is getting updated in several areas. For a detailed overview of all those projects, visit the project page online.